Dynamic Duo
by Jennoist-OTP
Summary: Ryder Lynn has a lot on his plate: his job's a drag, his new co-worker Marley is out of his league and being his supernatural alter-ego isn't as awesome as it might seem– Lima is only big enough for one superhero, and his Mega Stud status is threatened by the arrival of the obnoxious Woman Fierce. Superhero!Ryley AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So I enjoyed and missed writing my old story **_**A Journey Soon Begins **_**so much that I wanted to try out another one with a supernatural element…cos it's fun, (usually) less angsty and means I can write the craziest stuff and get away with it :p I have wanted to do something inspired by Ryder and Marley's alter-egos in the **_**Dynamic Duets **_**episode for a few months now, and here it finally is :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or the characters.**

What Ryder wanted to know most of all right now, was how things could change so swiftly. Moreover, how could _other people _barge in so rudely to your life and change it in an instant. _Women_, he sighed to himself. _So typical_. One woman coming and wreaking havoc with his life would be bad enough, but _two _in _the same week_ was outrageous.

{x}

It had all started in his daily working life last Tuesday. His ego-maniac boss Sue Sylvester had humiliated him when he had presented her with her morning meeting coffee. Apparently it was too sweet, despite Ryder having dedicated an extra five minutes specifically to measuring out the desired two teaspoons of sugar, so his boss had yelled at him to make him a new one in front half the company's senior staff, before shoving it into his chest, thus spilling it all down the brand new shirt his mom had gotten him for his 23rd birthday the week previous.

He had tried to ignore the burning sensation the hot coffee was causing on his chest, not to mention the other less senior employees of the company who watched and whispered as he stumbled out of the boardroom, and immediately made his way towards the staff kitchenette to get Sylvester another coffee. When he had gotten there he had found a slim female figure, face hidden by a cupboard door, frantically searching through its contents. When he had sighed and made his way to the other side of the room towards the coffee stuff, she had jumped and spun around, and the impact was instant. Ryder could almost pinpoint the exact moment Cupid's metaphorical arrow had pierced his heart and left him dumbstruck… (God, he cringed at how lame and cheesy he was,) that being, the exact moment he looked at her face. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, leaving him more room to ogle at her gentle features, and ogle he did, so much so that he only became aware that she was speaking to him after she had to say 'Hello?' the third time.

"Oh, he-hello," he mumbled when he finally realised, nervously adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses before running his hand down his overly-combed, overly-gelled hair. The young woman smiled shyly.

"I was asking if you knew where the teabags were?" She asked quietly. Ryder took a second to register what she was saying, before almost jumping forward and spinning around to fumble with the jars and tins on the counter behind him.

"Right here, um…" he trailed off, not knowing her name, handing her a tin with the word 'teabags' clearly marked on it. If he had had the safety armour of the costume he wore in his other, slightly less monotonous sphere of life, he might have made a cheeky comment about her not having looked very hard, but right now he was just awkward, bumbling Ryder Lynn, and no way would he dare say that to such a beautiful girl.

"Marley. Marley Rose," she answered for him. "Thank you, you're a life saver," she stuttered, clearly as shy and awkward a wallflower as he was, but without a doubt pulling it off better. Ryder gave a small, wry smile at the ironic truth of her statement…not that that was a conversation he could have with anyone other than people like him. "Sorry, it's my first day and I have no idea what I'm doing, I…" she continued, throwing together a pot of tea with almost super-human speed. Ryder simply smiled and nodded. He understood completely…he had been working here for two years and was only marginally better, after all. "What's your name?" She asked, once she was waiting for the tea to strengthen.

"Ryder Lynn," he stumbled. "I-I'm Sylvester's PA. Weird for a guy, I know, but…" he muttered. Marley Rose wore an impressed expression.

"The CEO's PA? Wow…I'm supposed to be an office clerk, but I guess getting the drinks for the meeting down in the environmental department is like my initiation for today or something," she sighed, frowning.

Ryder smiled and looked down. She made his position sound more glamorous than it was- sure, Sylvester may have been top dog in the biggest business in Lima, Ohio, but it wasn't on the multi-national scale or anything, and there was nothing glamorous about, as his loveably coarse best friend and co-worker Jake put it, being 'the biggest bitch in Lima's bitch for a living'. As for her own position, he didn't have the heart or the courage to tell this Marley Rose that employees on the lower end of the hierarchy of this company were treated like shit on a daily basis regardless of their official job title, so settled for a simple, "I guess so," and an awkward half-smile. He tried to figure out a way to keep the conversation going, but Jake burst into the cramped room before he could muster up something else to say.

"Dude, get Sylvester's coffee now or you'll be fired before lunch break…I can hear her huffing from down the corridor," he warned, before casting an eye over Marley Rose and raising an eyebrow.

"Shit!" Ryder muttered. He had forgotten all about Sylvester's coffee, and hadn't even started preparing it. Marley smiled slightly, amused at the sight of him scrambling around to make it, before politely telling him goodbye and taking her tea with her. Ryder stopped to breathe as he measured out the sugar, hearing Jake's voice.

"Dude," he sniggered, causing Ryder to turn. "You're still drooling," he finished with a smug look, making a rude gesture to make it absolutely evident to what –or who- he was referring to. Great, Ryder thought. His instant crush on this new colleague was _that _obvious.

"_Shut up,_" he hissed as he carried the coffee out the room, ignoring his best friend's laughter as he went.

{x}

So that was the story of how the first woman had ruined his life this week, purely by being so perfect that she would probably never dream of even talking to a loser like him again. Ryder physically shook his head. It was pointless even thinking about her, because he would only get his hopes up only to have them crushed. No, Ryder thought. Better to rile himself up over the second woman to screw with his head, just two days later.

{x}

Ryder would never be so arrogant and unfeeling as to say that there was ever a 'good' time for things like these to happen, but if there was, it was times like these; times when he would sense an impending or unfolding disaster just as he was just finishing work and wouldn't have to come up with a damn good excuse to give to Sylvester to explain his sudden absence, times where he could rush to the men's room, rip off his tight office suit to reveal the blue and red superhero costume brandishing the letters 'MS' underneath, swap his glasses for his face mask and jump out the window and fly up into the darkening sky at super-speed as inconspicuously as possible.

Ryder had realised from a very young age that he was not like the other children he grew up with. They didn't have the ability to fly, move at lightning speed, pick up a truck with one hand, or senses that could pick up smells and sounds from miles away. When his own parents had realised, they had called him a freak, and his well to do PHD holding father didn't want a freak for a son. Luckily he had been taken in by people like him, who had hushed up his birth parents and taught him all about the 1 in a several million gene he possessed which gave him the abilities he had, and, when he had turned 21 two years ago, he had elected, like the majority of people like him (which was hardly any at all,) to use his powers for the greater good. Superheroes had revealed themselves (under pseudonyms, of course, as it was too risky to even know each other's real names,) and had started appearing in towns and cities throughout the world over the past twenty years or so. Ryder had decided to stay in the small town he had grown up in until he was a more experienced superhero, but had not had it much easier than the likes of Femme Fatale, Night Bird and co in the bigger cities, especially since the Firm, a mysterious criminal gang who had begun quietly taking control of Lima for the past few months, in whichever brutal and violent means necessary, had arrived.

And so, on this Thursday evening, he had heard the screams and the threatening words from a couple of miles away and soared out to the rescue. He had arrived at the scene within minutes, before assessing what was happening before acting. Two thuggish looking men, undoubtedly some of the Firm's workers, were holding a man with a young child at gun point, wanting information. Ryder had clicked his knuckles before soaring in and snatching the guns out of their hands in one fair swoop.

"Daddy look, it's Mega Stud!" He had heard the awed cry from the small boy, as he watched the biggest, most respected Lima celebrity dismantle the weapons at lightning speed. He had finished that, and was just about to reign in the two cowardly men who were now attempting futilely to escape on foot, when a flash of purple and gold had beat him to it. When the figure had skidded to a halt, he saw that it was indeed another superhero, and a female one at that, long brown locks flowing behind her as she gracefully tackled the two grown men, tying them up in a rope before handing them over to the police, who had just arrived. He probably would have stopped jaw-dropped to ogle the way the tight costume fitted her body, or to fantasize about what the face might look like behind the gold mask she wore, if he weren't so angry at her for hijacking his mission- something she was _not _about to get away with.

"Hey!" He yelled, once the scene had calmed down, trying to ignore the newspaper photographers scrambling to take pictures of this new arrival. The woman had ignored him, so he shouted again, and she span in the air, clearly rolling her eyes despite the face mask.

"Mega Stud. So good to finally meet you," she said sarcastically.

"Who the hell are you?" He retorted. "What does WF stand for?" He asked, reading the letters on her flower embroidered costume.

"Woman Fierce," she announced proudly, loud enough for all the reporters and the ground below to hear. "I'm here to do something concrete about the Firm, since all you can do is round up a couple of the thugs they get to do their dirty work."

"Lima is _my _turf," he hissed aggressively. "And I _am _doing something about the Firm. I was right this second until you butt in! Where did you come from anyway? I haven't seen you at any organisation meetings!"

"Newly registered, just turned twenty-one," Woman Fierce explained. "But apparently already just as good as you- at least," she had added snarkily, before flying away.

{x}

Ryder gave a large sigh, as he contemplated last week's events. Two women making life even more difficult for him than it already was, one unintentionally, one very intentionally…and he had a feeling it wasn't going to get any easier any time soon.

**So, what do you think of chapter 1? Too weird? Or all the ryley weirdness you've been craving? :p Let me know! This is probably the most AU fanfic I will ever write, so any praise/advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, this is just an introduction into the situation, but I have planned out quite a dramatic plot, so yeah. :) Also if you're wondering, I have not abandoned the Ryder's Chance sequel in favour of this- it will also be coming out soon :D**

**Lauren xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the positive feedback after chapter 1! I hope you like chapter 2 just as much!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.**

Mega Stud sped into the quiet, dimly lit car park and made his way to his small car where his work clothes were kept. He swung open the door and perched on the passenger seat, pulling off his cape and face mask and scrambling to put his shirt, tie and trousers on over his costume as quickly as the pulsating anger would allow him. _How dare she turn up there again. How dare she hijack another mission. _Luckily this time he had managed to hold this Woman Fierce off long enough to pull the old man out of his wrecked car without her coming and stealing the limelight- he wasn't always so lucky though.

Five times now. Five times he had gone about his work, only to be interrupted by this obnoxious young woman who thought that it was acceptable to try and oust him out of his own hometown. The only consolation was that he was only ten minutes late to work, so hopefully Sylvester wouldn't yell too much, he thought, as he took the elevator up to the seventh floor of the building and towards her office.

"Why the hell are you late, Lynn?" She spat at him by way of greeting as he stumbled into her office, causing him to grimace when it sprayed slightly on his glasses. The woman had no sense of personal space…or maybe she did, and just enjoyed making him and everyone else feel uncomfortable. "Forget it," she sighed, as he began to stammer out some excuse about a flat tyre. "You think that's hard? Try waiting for _you _to finish a sentence without stuttering, _that's hard!" _Ryder gulped and waited for instruction. "Go and get all the paperwork from Schuester from the conference last week, and then I need you to type up the minutes from last night's meeting. Now get the hell out of my office." Ryder nodded quickly and stumbled out. If only he could remember where Schuester's office was in the maze of a building. The fourth floor maybe? He turned towards the stairwell and jogged down, bolting through the door leading to the fourth. He often wondered how he could be so…cool, there was no other word for it, as Mega Stud, but as soon as he was out of superhero-mode he was crippled with anxiety, and heading for an office he couldn't find was one of the things that could wind him up within seconds. His searching became more and more frantic, so, as he turned yet another corner at top speed, it was hardly surprising when- BANG.

"Ow!" He yelped, his hand immediately going to his chin where something hard had smashed into it…that something being a shorter person's forehead. The forehead of the person he had been thinking of pretty much non-stop since their meeting in the staff kitchenette. As he regained focus he could see that she was leaning with one hand against the wall, her face contorted in pain and her other hand attempting to soothe the bump. She still looked adorable.

"Crap," Ryder groaned as he realised that apologising would probably be a better idea than ogling right now. "Sorry!"

"It's ok," Marley whispered. Ryder could have sworn she had gone bright red when had seen who it was, but it was probably his wishful thinking.

"No, I'm sorry, I was in a rush, I don't know where I'm going, I-"

"Honestly, it's fine," she reaffirmed. Ryder looked at her awkwardly, but at the same time not wanting to tear his eyes away. She looked back at him with the same dazed expression, (maybe he'd given her a concussion, he thought,) until he realised the task in hand.

"I…this is the right floor for Will Schuester's office, right?" He asked. "Sorry…I…asking the new girl for directions, I'm dumb, I'm sorry, I-" he was cut off by a small giggle escaping Marley's lips.

"Stop apologising," she chuckled. "And yes. I just passed his office actually." She said with a shy smile.

"Thanks…I should go," he mumbled reluctantly, to which she nodded in agreement, her expression hard to read, but seeming at least relatively amused. Ryder cringed internally, before mustering up the courage to tell her 'bye,' before racing down the hallway, cursing under his breath at his own lame self.

{x}

"So you made her laugh, and then ran away?" Jake asked, a confused look on his face, as they chilled in Ryder's apartment with a beer each that night. Ryder grimaced.

"I didn't make her laugh in a good way," he reasoned. "First of all, I nearly knocked her out, and second, she was laughing _at _me, not _with _me."

"You are such a pessimist," Jake groaned. "_Talk to her._"

"About what?!" Ryder asked.

"Anything! Movies…favourite vacation destinations…your opinions on the crisis in the middle east, I don't know," he joshed, earning a glare from his best friend. "But seriously dude, just talk to her. Oh, and casually slip in a question about how her boyfriend's settling in to Lima- if it turns out she has one, you drop it and get over her. If she _doesn't, _she'll pick up that you wanted to find out if she did or not, and will know you're interested," Jake explained, downing the rest of his beer and looking very pleased with himself and his woman-based know-how.

"I don't know," Ryder sighed. "She works on the fourth floor. If I walk three floors down _just _to talk to her I'm gonna look like a total loser."

"You _are _a total loser," Jake reminded him. "But- no offence, I know you're super into her- but from what I've seen of her it looks like she is too, so she could totally dig you. Find any small excuse to go down there if you're so worried about that." Ryder rolled his eyes at Jake's reasoning, but thought that he perhaps had a point.

"I'll think about it," he conceded. But before that, he had to think about Mega Stud matters.

{x}

On Saturday morning, as with every first Saturday of the month, Ryder flew out to New York City in a private jet provided for him by the American Superhero Association, for their monthly meeting. This month, however, something was different. As he stepped onto the plane, kitted out in his superhero costume to retain the required anonymity, he was dismayed, but not particularly surprised, given recent events, to see that Woman Fierce was there, already lounging on his _favourite chair. _

"You're late, Mega Stud," she told him. "I was beginning to think I would have this plane to myself."

"Beginning to _hope_, more like," he grumbled, sitting in another chair as far as possible from her. "By the way, as this will be your first meeting with the ASA, don't be afraid to ask me if you need any help," he couldn't resist adding, with a smug smile which was just about visible through his face mask. Woman Fierce gave a shrill, sarcastic laugh through her own.

"I'd rather gouge my own eyes out," she replied, before falling silent for the entire journey. Ryder did wonder for a second if the voice wasn't strangely familiar, but then realised it was probably because he was already used to her snarky comments every time she swooped in and seized his mission in the middle of his work. Ryder folded his arms and smirked to himself, revelling in the fact that he'd finally managed to shut her up.

When the plane got to New York, they were, as Ryder always had been, escorted to the ASA's top secret HQ, just in time for the small talk and catch up before the meeting began. Ryder politely greeted Night Bird, before rolling his eyes as high as they could go, when Woman Fierce skipped past him to enthusiastically hug Femme Fatale, the biggest bitch he knew. Well…at least the biggest bitch he had known before he had met Woman Fierce.

"What's the problem, Mega Stud?" Femme Fatale asked, not missing his reaction. "Do two female and superior-to-you superheroes hugging threaten you?"

"Not at all," he replied coolly. "Just typical that _you two _would be friends. You must have a great time being cold and horrible together."

"Aw, does somebody need a wah-mbulance?" Femme Fatale asked, as Woman Fierce smirked behind. "Guess you can't take it that you're no longer the best superhero in your boring little town."

"I am," he replied defensively. "And as for that, I hope you both know that I will be complaining about Woman Fierce's actions to the council tonight."

"And I hope _you _know that I will be defending her," she retorted.

{x}

Ryder stomped into work the next Monday morning in a foul mood. The council had decided that, for the moment, Woman Fierce wasn't breaking any rules, and, even worse, had suggested that perhaps he could use her extra help in the fight against the Firm. In other words, he had been undermined in front of all 34 American superheroes…and then to top it off, just six hours ago he had flown out of bed to stop a gang robbery…and of course, had found the familiar, gold-costumed brunette already there. Thankfully, a stroke of luck had arrived in the form of a message from Jake to lighten his mood.

"Dude, Sylvester's sick, you're off for the day!" He announced, when Ryder got to their floor. Ryder punched the air at the news.

"Awesome! Well, guess I'm going straight home then," he said triumphantly.

"_Or…" _Jake began, "you could do one job for me first though. Find me a hole-punch." He ordered.

"Find it yourself, you lazy asshole!" Ryder scoffed.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked with a grin. "Because I think there might be one on the _fourth floor." _He said slowly. _Oh, _Ryder thought. _That's what he's doing._

"Well, I guess I could help a buddy out," he chuckled, playing along. "I will go right now and get you your hole-punch from the _fourth floor._" Jake grinned and patted him on the back.

"Good luck bro," he whispered.

Ryder made his way nervously down the stairs, wringing his hands anxiously the entire way until he got there and sawher_. _She was sat in her little open office cubicle, and looking particularly beautiful today. He closed his eyes and tried to bring some of his Mega Stud confidence to Ryder Lynn, and before he knew it, his feet were taking him over to her. She looked up upon hearing the footsteps coming towards her, her eyes widening and a small smile stretching across her face.

"Hi?" She half-asked happily. "C-can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah, um…" _Come on, Ryder, _he thought. "I was…looking for a hole-punch and wondered if you might have one here." Marley raised a confused eyebrow, before blushing a deep shade of red and smirking slightly, before opening the top drawer of her desk and rummaging through it.

"Here you go." She handed him the item he wasn't really looking for, before speaking again. "So…is there…anything else, you came here for?" She asked shyly. Ryder was too preoccupied by the horrifying noises his supersonic ears were picking up to notice her expression turn grave. Gunshots. Screams. Crashes.

"I…sorry I have to go," he said quietly. Marley nodded, not questioning it.

"Yeah…me too, actually." She replied. Ryder barely noticed her answer, and jogged off to the bathroom as fast as he could before ripping off his clothes to reveal the costume underneath and zooming into the sky. Something very bad was happening across Lima, and he'd be damned if he let Woman Fierce sort it out first.

**What do you think about that people? Please, please let me know below!**

**Also, sending you all my love ryley fans- let's pray together for good luck on Tuesday's episode!**

**To my reviewers from chapter 1:**

_**TeaAndGlee: **_**Aw, I'm so glad you like the concept! I'm excited for it too, so I hope you continue to enjoy :)**

_**Ember411: **_**Well, I'm honoured to be the exception, thank you my dear!**

_**Anonymous: **_**Hooray, thank you! Here is some 'more' for you now :p**

_**Gabby: **_**Hey girl! Glad you enjoyed chapter one, and thank you for the review!**

_**RocioMelinatic-Ryley15: **_**Thanks! Hope you liked chapter two!**

_**Guest: **_**Haha, I'm glad it was the okay level of weirdness :p Aww, you're so sweet, thank you! And I'm glad you enjoyed Ryder's Chance :)**

**Until chapter 3, lots of love from Lauren xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Hope you enjoy this chapter, but warning, it gets kinda violent and then very angsty…just a heads up!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did, Marley and Ryder would have got it on in that hotel room on Tuesday. Joking. Maybe.**

It was such a funny day, now he looked back on it. What had gone from a wonderful start: an unexpected day off work and finally a slightly _not_ awkward conversation with Marley Rose, had turned into him making the most shame-filled, selfish mistake of his life…and the consequences had been the worst imaginable. He didn't know if there was a comeback from this: he just hoped that what his adopted Mother had always said to him would turn out to be true. He could almost hear her voice ringing in his ears now. _"Every mistake made presents an opportunity to make things better." _But he didn't know if he could make things better…he didn't know if Woman Fierce, who was equally to blame,could either. All his brain could concentrate on right now was on replaying the horrendous scene over and over again:

Sad as he had been to have to tear himself away from a conversation with Marley, Ryder's ears had been filled with horrendous sounds, and he knew he had to leave right then, especially as Woman Fierce would have almost certainly heard too. He had made his way as quickly as possible to the nearest men's room, waiting agonisingly long seconds for another man in there to leave so that he could rip of his suit and leap out the window and fly towards the chaos.

In just a couple of minutes, Ryder had zoomed toward the scene of the ruckus, that being a scrapyard on the edge of Lima…it appeared to be a stand-off of sorts: a group of thuggish looking men sheltering themselves behind heaps of metal that were once cars, guns aloft and pointed at their opposition, the opposition being a terrified looking man…who had evidently been trapped in amongst the metal debris; he had looked up with an expression of both panic and relief when he saw that Mega Stud had come to help him out. When he saw his face, Ryder had immediately recognised him as John Mallory, an employee at his work with an office on the seventh floor…although right now, he hadn't been at work, he had been in grave danger.

Ryder had gestured at him to hold out a few seconds longer whilst he had darted behind a corner, his face creeping round to calmly assess the scene before making any rash decisions about how best to deal with it.

"I swear, I don't know where your money is!" Mallory had told the men repeatedly, terror dripping on every single word.

"Well you haven't got long to remember!" Had been the reply. Whilst watching the actions of the instigators (without a doubt the Firm's men,) he again caught Mallory's eye, who was now frantically mouthing something silently to avoid the superhero being spotted by the men, and pointing at the heap of metal, but Ryder couldn't make it out. He had appeared to be mouthing the same words over and over again, but what those words were was anyone's guess. Ryder had gestured at him to calm, and was just about to swoop into the fold and put things right, when the familiar flash of gold had appeared in front of him and landed quickly yet gracefully on the hard concrete ground.

"No, no, no," he had started, earning an eye-roll from his female counterpart. "Not this time. I have put up with your crap for too long." With that, he had made an attempt to stride past her and into the action, but she had shuffled at lightning speed to her side and blocked his path.

"The feeling is mutual, _Mega Stud_," she had announced, saying his name as if it were a horrific curse word. "I hoped you would have given up by now. I didn't want to have to do this right now, but needs must I suppose-"

"'Needs must' what?" He had interrupted furiously. "What do you 'have to do' now?"

"Tell you to leave!" She had replied. "You're not up to the job. And now you're wasting _both _our time."

"Help me, please, quickly!" Had come the strangled cry of the trapped man, who was no longer concerned with staying silent. Both Mega Stud and Woman Fierce had turned and hissed at him to be quiet and patient so as not to give them away, before darting around another corner of piled up junk to continue their furious row.

"I'm not leaving. I was here before you, I will be here after you. Now prance off in your flowery little costume, and let me _do my job._" Ryder had said through gritted teeth.

As they had quarrelled, more pleas for help, and grunted threats could be heard coming from the other side of the scrapyard, where, with both the superheroes more concerned with marking Lima as their own territory, Mallory was still trapped, but still Mega Stud and Woman Fierce had continued exchanging petty insults and glares. They had only stopped when Woman Fierce had noticed out of the corner of her eye that the group of thugs were running away as quickly as possible.

"They're getting away, you idiot," she had remarked, yet still not bothering to leave the argument in favour of catching the criminals. "See, this is why you are a pathetic excuse of a superhero-"

"Says the one who preferred to get in my way rather than let me attempt to help?" Ryder had scoffed, whilst Mallory's screams could be heard getting more frantic, but the words disembodied and incomprehensible. They had finally both realised what he was shouting when it was too late, even for their super speed.

"Bomb!" As Mallory choked out the word, Mega Stud and Woman Fierce turned, only for the force of the explosion to throw them backwards.

BANG.

{x}

Ryder now sat, still as a stone, watching his reflection in the mirror in his apartment as the burnt skin on his face and hands began to supernaturally heal itself, letting the memories play over one more time before the theme tune to the local news on the TV in the other room jogged him out of his trance.

"_More now on the breaking news we brought live to you earlier of an explosion on the eastern edge of Lima this morning. Police have confirmed that one person was killed. The family has been informed but police are not prepared to release the identity to the public at this time, however, reliable sources say that the deceased was a man in his late forties…"_

Numb. That was how Ryder felt right now, and no matter how much he told himself to stop, how much worse Mallory's wife and young children would be feeling right now, he couldn't shake it off. _Mallory had died because of him. _Woman Fierce too, but Ryder couldn't control what she did. They were both to blame. A man had died because they had been too busy arguing to do the thing they had sworn to do when they had come of age.

"…_the Firm have already claimed responsibility for the incident in a chilling message to the local government, also claiming that Lima's two resident superheroes, Mega Stud and Woman Fierce, could have stopped them if they had tried…which brings about the question. Just where were either of them when this man was in need?"_

Ryder leapt to his feet, zooming into the next room and kicking the televisioninto pieces, before opening the window and screaming as loud as he could as hot tears ran down his face, utterly consumed with guilt. He thought about screaming her name loud enough for her to hear in whatever part of Lima she lived, to talk to her sensibly and calmly for once and try to find a way to make things right. But he couldn't face Woman Fierce again today. He pulled his sore feet into his bedroom and lay down on his back, trying to allow the burns to continue to heal. He tried thinking about Marley Rose to make him feel better. Not even that was working. Something had to change. _He_ had to change, to make sure that he never had anyone else's blood on his hands.

**Sorry if this made you sad, but they needed a wake-up call! Please let me know what you thought :) There will be more everyday Marley and Ryder in the next chapter, as well as their superhero guises.**

**To my reviewers: **

_**RocioMelinatic-Ryley15: **_**Oh my gosh, you're too kind! Thank you so much :')**

_**TeaAndGlee: **_**Aw, so sweet! I hope it continues to captivate you :p Here is some more :p**

**Savannaramirez35: Thank you as always for your kind words! Here's an update :p**

_**Texasgleek: **_**Well, stand by and you might just get your wish :p**

_**Guest: **_**Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too :)**

_**Ember411: **_**Haha, let's just say that if 'hypothetically' that's going to happen at some point, I'm really looking forward to writing it :p**

**I'll update soon! Lauren xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! (Only takes like 5 seconds…)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

The scene at the company was a very sombre one the next Monday. When Ryder reached his floor, dressed in his best black suit, he didn't even bother going to ask Sylvester what his duties were, he already knew them and set about them immediately. Today was the work memorial in honour of Mallory…the man Ryder might have saved, but didn't.

Ryder walked into the largest conference room where the memorial would be held in just an hour's time. The scene there was enough to jog him out of the numb state he had been in for the past 3 days. A large photo portrait of Mallory was projected onto the wall at the front, and some of their colleagues who had been particularly close to the man were gathered at the front already, not having to work as they were on leave to allow themselves time to grieve. Ryder was just about to start placing programmes of the ceremony on every chair when he became vaguely aware of someone coming up behind him. He turned to see Marley, dressed demurely in black, her blue eyes filled with sadness.

"Hey," she started gently. "I thought that was you."

"Hi," Ryder replied, managing to give a small smile. "You're like an hour early- or did they call you in to help set up? I didn't think that was part of your job-"

"Oh, actually the head of my division says we're not allowed to attend," she sighed. "We 'didn't know him enough and there's too much work to do'…so, I just thought I'd come up quickly and pay my respects before I get to work."

"So _you_ _did _know him?" Ryder asked, confused as to why a woman who worked in a different department and had only been at the company a couple of weeks would feel so compelled to pay her respects to this man.

"No…I…I never met him," she replied hesitantly. "It's just heart-breaking. I can't stop thinking about it, is all," she explained, looking down. "Did you know him?"

"Kinda. Enough to feel sick to the stomach about what happened. Enough to feel kind of…responsible," he blurted out perhaps rather carelessly. Marley simply scoffed.

"Trust me, Ryder, if anyone's responsible, it's not you…it's those damn superheroes," she said angrily, tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes. Ryder swallowed hard. _If only she knew, _he thought.She wouldn't want to speak to him ever again…and he wouldn't even blame her. They stood in silence, just looking at Mallory's smiling face on the wall, before Marley spoke up boldly again. "If there's one good thing I have taken from this…" she started slowly… "It's that…life's too short to be selfish…but also too short to…let good things pass you by because you're too shy to go out and get them." She regarded him timidly, and Ryder raised an eyebrow, trying to analyse what she meant. So it was typical, of course, that the everlasting thorn in Ryder's side, Sue Sylvester, should interrupt them right at this point.

"Who the hell are you?" She barked, looking down at the shorter, younger woman.

"I-I'm Marley Rose, I work in the environ-"

"I don't care," Sylvester interjected. "Get the hell out of my sight and back to work."

Marley gulped and muttered a few apologetic words before scurrying away with a terrified expression on her face, looking round once at Ryder as she went, who was now looking awkwardly at the floor, knowing he was about to be yelled at or at least told off. Sylvester closed in until her foul breath filled Ryder's nostrils and he could feel her breathing on his skin.

"A man from this company has already died in a suspicious way. Our reputation is on the line. If anything goes even slightly not to plan today because you would rather be _flirting _with some bimbo office clerk, you will be out of a job quicker than the Firm's dirty work ripped dear Mallory here to smithereens. Got it?" She spat into his ear. Ryder had probably never been more disgusted with something she'd said, but he had no choice but to nod, scrambling to continue putting out the programs as she put on her 'professional' face to go to talk to the guests of honour.

{x}

Later that evening, Ryder sat on the roof of the tallest building in Lima, (still not very tall, but the best location he could find,) donning his full Mega Stud costume. He only hoped she'd accept his invitation and arrive. (The invitation being an email via the ASA, who were, as it happened, conducting a full investigation into the way Mega Stud and Woman Fierce had handled, or rather failed to handle, the incident surrounding Mallory's death). He wondered how she'd been coping the last few days- it had only just dawned on him that, like himself, she would have a normal life, friends, family, a job, completely detached from Woman Fierce. He wondered if Mallory's death – and their part in it, would have affected these things the way it had affected Ryder.

He was just giving up hope in her arriving when he heard two strong but dainty feet slam onto the concrete behind him. He swerved to see her standing there, her gold cape and brown hair blowing gently behind her in the soft evening breeze. He noticed a change immediately. Her usually confident, hands-on-hips gait had been replaced by her standing awkwardly, her arms folded protectively across her chest. Vulnerable. That was the best way to describe it. For the first time since he'd known her, Woman Fierce looked vulnerable.

"Mega Stud," she stated her usual way of 'greeting' him, only it was similarly less smug than before. He nodded in reply, trying to figure out a way to begin, before she did so for him. "No need to tell me why I'm here. A man died and it's our fault. Now you're probably going to tell me that it would never have happened if I wasn't here and you're going to try to get me to leave again and-"

"No. I'm not." He cut her off. Even through her mask he could see her face contort into an expression of confusion. "Look…this Firm is more challenging than I ever anticipated…after what happened on Friday I've been thinking…that maybe, until we flush them out…Lima could use an extra superhero for the time being…" He looked at his feet, compounding his shame and embarrassment. Woman Fierce perked up ever so slightly.

"Well, well. Mega Stud admitting he needs help? Never thought I'd see the day," she told him, a hint of the usual swagger returning to her voice.

"We have to work together," he told her firmly. "We don't have to like each other, we just have to work together and make sure nothing like Friday happens ever again. The Firm are only going to get stronger, and who knows, more people might get killed, but it's not going to be our fault again. We'll work out who's gonna stay in Lima after we've got rid of the Firm, but not until then."

"Agreed." Woman Fierce stated. Ryder looked slightly taken aback.

"Really? I thought you were gonna take a lot more convincing."

"I took my oath when I turned of age for the same reasons you did, MS," she explained. Ryder was about to debate this new nickname, but she cut him off. "I joined to help people, not to shove other superheroes out the way and be better than them just for the sake of it…I just…forgot that for a while," she admittedly sadly, obviously thinking of Mallory.

"Me too," Ryder offered. "So…do we have a deal?" Marley shook his extended hand.

"We do." It was just then that their super-sensitive ears were filled with the cry of a man who had crashed his car- a relatively easy mission, but serious all the same.

"Guess this is our first run huh?" She asked, running off the edge of the building and into the air, leaving her counterpart to follow.

…**Progress on both fronts? Let me know what you thought of the chapter please, please, please!**

**To those who reviewed chapter 3:**

_**TeaAndGlee: **_**Thank you! It was very angsty, I agree! More hope in this one, though :p**

_**Ember411: **_**I know, poor Mallory! Here is your update :)**

_**Guest: **_**They do, you're right! Thankfully they've realised that now!**

**Lauren xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! Sorry I took so horrendously long to update, I've been distracted with writing a jennoist and ryley oneshot, *cough* you should check them out *cough*. But I'm back now, woohoo, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or the impending bs that is Glee in NYC tonight wouldn't be happening.**

The sterile looking white floors and walls of the corridor outside the main boardroom in the ASA's headquarters were giving Ryder a headache, not to mention the tightness he also had to deal with from his Mega Stud outfit. He sat there on the bench outside the door, a clear gap away from Woman Fierce, as they both waited to be called in for their disciplinary meeting with the Chairman. The corridor was absolutely silent, the awkward disdain for each other extremely evident. In fact, they both breathed a sigh of relief when an assistant finally came to call them in. It was only then that Ryder realised how nervous he was. He had never directly spoken to the Chairman, an elderly greying man, too old to continue physical Superhero duties and known only by his title, in person. The assistant showed him and Woman Fierce to two chairs on opposite sides of the oval table, close to the man himself.

The chairman began the meeting by stating the obvious, the reason they were here, before starting an interrogation, of sorts.

"Eyewitness reports claim that you were, and I quote; 'too busy arguing to help the poor man'," the chairman challenged. "Would either of you care to comment?" Even through her face mask, Ryder could detect the uncharacteristic fear in Woman Fierce's unnervingly familiar blue eyes, so he decided to be brave, clearing his throat and preparing to answer.

"That would...well, that would probably be accurate yes," he stuttered.

"_Probably?" _The chairman asked, a bushy grey eyebrow raised.

"It's true. We were fighting," Woman Fierce piped up.

"Yes," Ryder admitted. "But we've already sorted it out between ourselves and we're moving on from it-"

"And what about Mr. Mallory's family?" The Chairman challenged. "How do you think his wife and children are 'moving on from it'?"

"I…didn't mean what happened to Mallory, I meant our argument-"

"Good." The Chairman barked out angrily. "As for your punishment, the high council has decided to give you both a formal warning- if _anything _similar happens again, you will be immediately struck off, and serious steps will be taken to insure you do not abuse your power." The two young superheroes both nodded in acceptance of their punishment.

"Now…" the Chairman continued. "…for your little 'turf war.' I understand that you both want to claim Lima, Ohio as your superhero workplace, correct?" He asked. They both nodded and uttered hurried words of agreement, deliberately avoiding each other's gaze in an attempt to prevent any further conflict…something that would be hard from now on, considering the Chairman's next words. "You are to work together until Lima's specific organised crime problem is eradicated. Now, we have decided that whomever should be the most responsible for the capture of the _leader _of the Firm, shall win the right to remain in Lima indefinitely."

They both exchanged confused, cautious looks, before returning their attention to Chairman.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to encourage more conflict between us?" Woman Fierce asked.

"On the contrary…I believe a little healthy competition will drive you both to be the best superheroes you can be, to the benefit of your city."

They both looked like they might challenge him further and remind him that the only reason they were having this meeting was because of a competition between them that had gone too far, but his expression told them it was probably wise not to. With that, they were promptly dismissed and escorted back to the high speed jet which would bring them home to Lima. Just as they had done on the way there, the two of them spent the entire journey in silence, sat on opposite sides of the jet. When they landed, Woman Fierce reluctantly approached Mega Stud.

"MS…I just wanted to say that…I think what the Chairman says is stupid and dangerous, but we have to accept it so…if we find ourselves in a situation where letting you capture the Firm's leader turns out to be the only way we're going to catch him…or her…or save lives, then…I'm prepared to accept that…I'd rather have leave Lima than be responsible for another death," she told him. Ryder looked slightly taken aback at this, but nodded.

"Me too." He agreed. It was a start, he thought. Two times now they had formed a certain level of solidarity in the name of the greater good.

{x}

At work the next day, it was all Ryder could do not to fall asleep on the job. The inevitable tiredness caused by flying to and from the HQ for the disciplinary meeting had been compounded by being called into action just before he had been planning to go to bed; the problem hadn't been caused by the Firm or indeed any malicious party, but if he and Woman Fierce hadn't been there to remove a piece of rogue scaffolding that had fallen and impaled a man, ten times quicker than the fire department would have been able to, then it could have had disastrous circumstances all the same.

In fact, Ryder might just have dozed off at the desk where he was supposed to be typing up a report for Sylvester, when a chirpy, familiar female voice alerted him.

"Hey," Marley called, chuckling when he sat upright in shock and nearly fell off his chair.

"Oh…Marley!" He replied, failing to supress a pathetically lovesick grin. "How's it going? I mean, what brings you up here?" He asked, playing with the rim of his glasses.

"Well…" she started, with a somewhat knowing smirk. "I was just about to go on my break when I figured…I might need a hole punch?" Ryder, still in his half-asleep state, looked back in confusion.

"Oh," he replied dopily, scrambling around for one in his desk drawer, "funny how you had to come three floors up to find one," he mused, stopping when he heard her laugh.

"Yup," she agreed. "Almost as funny as _you _having to come three floors _down _for one."

_Ah._

Ryder sat wide-eyed for a second, finally catching on and knowing he had been sussed out, before looking down and feeling his cheeks burn scarlet.

"Yeah…" he sighed. "You're right. Almost as funny as my pathetic excuse to talk to you," he stated, feeling bold and attempting to channel his confident alter-ego into his everyday personality.

"Well…I like talking to you," she almost whispered, looking bashfully back at him. Ryder smiled at her in disbelief that this conversation was even taking place, until an unwelcome sight jogged him out of his reverie.

"Crap. Sue Sylvester at 2 o'clock," he announced, and she whipped her head around and grimaced.

"I'd better go," she sighed. "She's waiting for an excuse to fire me, I can tell. Bye Ryder." With that, she turned to make her way towards the stairwell at the side of the corridor the large office floor joined onto. Ryder couldn't help but gawk at the way her hips moved from side to side as she walked, but was distracted by a piece of flying scrunched up paper hitting him square in the temple. He looked up, expecting to see his boss, but instead his best friend was now sat in the desk across from him, his arm still positioned in a way that gave away his guilt.

"Dude." Jake hissed. "That was your chance- run!"

"Wait what-" Ryder replied before being immediately interrupted.

"No 'whats'. You nerds were totally flirting! Go on, make something of it before she goes back to work!"

He was right, Ryder thought. Marley was just about to reach the stairwell, so he leapt out his chair and jogged after her just in time, calling her name when he was out of Sylvester's earshot.

"Marley," he started nervously, once she had heard and spun around, smiling when she saw it was him, just before the first step. He paused to clear his throat, then continued. "I've been thinking about what you said on Monday…about life being too short to pass up good things…and well…and just now," he trailed off, wondering how to word what he had been longing to say since their first encounter without sounding like an idiot.

"Yes?" She almost urged him on. _Just do it Ryder, _he thought. _The worst thing she can say is no, _he reminded himself, (having to spend all this time with knife-tongued Woman Fierce was starting to give him a warped perception of the average woman's rudeness- and Marley wasn't like that, he knew it.) He took a deep breath, before taking the plunge.

"Would you maybe wanna go out sometime? Like with me? Us? Two? Together?" _Well shit, congratulations you asshat, _he internally scolded felt his cheeks burn red yet again as he cringed at himself, whilst Marley blushed slightly herself, trying and failing to supress her laugh. "Sorry," he continued. "I mean-"

"I know what you meant, Ryder," she interjected. "And…I'd love to," she said with a shy smile.

Ryder blinked hard, resisting the urge to pinch himself. Had she just said yes? Had he just gotten a date with Marley Rose?

**Dun dun dunnn I hope you liked that! 2 major developments there, so as always I would be so grateful if you reviewed/faved/followed :)**

**To my lovely reviewers of chapter 4:**

_**TeaAndGlee: **_**Aw that makes me so happy, because I love everything you right too :') Sorry I took a good few days to update!**

_**Ember411: **_**They are indeed…it's all starting to lace together :p**

_**Teaxasgleek: **_**It is about time, haha. Glad you enjoyed and hope you liked this chapter too :)**

_**Savannaramirez35: **_**Awwwweee thank you so much baaabe :) Sorry about not updating soon, I'm a lazy so and so…**

_**Guest: **_**You're right, it does sound pretty powerful :p Hope you enjoyed the update :)**

**Lauren xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey all! First things first, sorry for being a total douche about updating. I was distracted by writing a drunk!newbies oneshot *cough* check it out *cough* but other than that I have no excuse, I can only apologise! Second…enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or the NY side would gtfo and ryley would have a kiss every episode. **

Amongst the ensuing chaos, Ryder stole a quick glance at his watch. _Crap. _It was Friday evening, and he was supposed to be meeting Marley at a bar downtown in _ten small minutes. _Yet here he was, flanked by the ever-annoying Woman Fierce to his left, chasing after a group of thugs who had assaulted a woman who worked at his company, and had gotten away with some sensitive documents regarding the company's security.

"MS I do not have time for this," Woman Fierce snapped through gritted teeth, and he looked up to see that he had obviously subconsciously stood still to grimace at the time and she had gotten several feet in front of him. "_You_ might be a loser with no life outside of this but some of us have places to be, sharpish!"

"Me too, that's why I was checking the time-" he argued, being interrupted before he could explain that his everyday-self had a date with a beautiful girl, which was probably way more awesome than whatever Woman Fierce's plans for the evening were.

"I don't care, just hurry up and help me catch these assholes," she yelled with an exasperated sigh. "Look, we've got them in an alleyway now," she gestured quickly at the long backstreet they had just entered. "You stay here, since standing still seems to be your order of the day, and I'll go to the other end and we'll have them trapped." Ryder chose to ignore her subtle dig and simply nodded in agreement at the plan, watching her elegantly rise into the air and rocket towards the end of the alley, as he muttered and cursed to himself about how he was going to be late and keep Marley waiting. In order to speed up the process, he decided to walk down the alley, but soon enough heard a loud commotion, and, by the time he reached it, found that Woman Fierce was taking down all three men ably.

"Care to take back the stolen goods, Mega Stud?" She asked coolly, pinning down the ringleader once the other two were as good as knocked out so that Ryder could snatch the documents from his arms.

"So…since they're incapacitated now…do you think I could run whilst you wait for the police?" Ryder asked, hedging his bets. "I kind of really have to be somewhere like, now…"

"No way, MS. If either of us is leaving it's _me. _I'm late for a date, okay, which means I have to get there _and_ get ready first."

"Who on Earth would have the patience to date someone like _you?" _Ryder scoffed irritably, ignoring the way she poked out her tongue, folding his arms in frustration at being late for his own date. Woman Fierce simply rolled her eyes at his statement, not saying another word. Agonising moments went by before a police car finally pulled up, and Ryder could leave before the cops had even reached them. When he got back to his apartment to throw on a smart pair of jeans and a shirt, it was already a quarter of an hour past the time he and Marley had agreed to meet. He didn't bother fixing his dishevelled hair, leaping out the window again as soon as he was dressed, not even caring that he was taking a huge risk of revealing his identity by flying mask-less and in normal clothes. Luckily the dark mostly concealed his, and he could land in a side-street near the bar confident that he hadn't been spotted. He jogged as quickly as he could until he reached the venue, slipping inside and scanning for Marley.

She wasn't there.

_Crap, _thought Ryder. _He'd been late, and she'd waited, and thought he'd stood her up. This damn superhero job was ruining his life, and now he'd screwed up his chance with an awesome girl because he'd been-_

"Ryder?" Came Marley's slightly out-of-breathvoice behind him. He spun around and saw her there, just coming inside and fixing her straightened hair quickly with her hands.

"Marley!" He said with a grin.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, the…traffic was terrible," she told him.

"Oh it's fine," he told her. "I just got here too actually. Er…shall we?" He asked. She nodded with a wide smile and they went to sit at the bar Ryder had been gesturing at. Ryder ordered a beer for himself before looking questioningly at her.

"Double vodka and coke for me," she announced nonchalantly.

"Wow," Ryder laughed, somewhat impressed. "Wait…is that a good idea? Like, if you're driving, I mean," he added, when she raised an indignant eyebrow.

"Driving?" She asked, confused.

"I thought you said the traffic was terrible."

"Oh…um…I mean, my friend dropped me off…so, the traffic was terrible, but I'm not driving," she clarified awkwardly. Ryder chuckled. To his amazement, it seemed like she might actually be as nervous as he was.

"So are you new in town too, or just at work…?" He asked once they had gotten their drinks, figuring small talk was the way to go.

"Yeah. Came here from Colorado right out of college." She explained.

"Why Lima, Ohio?" He asked curiously.

"Why not?" She challenged, with a playful smile.

"Well…you know, it's just…well it's not exactly the most exciting place on Earth, and well, it's not exactly safe here right now, what with the gang and all," he sighed.

"Well it's far from home, so for now that's good enough of an adventure for me. I mean, do I see myself here in five years' time? Maybe not. But I've got a good job which can get me good experience. And as for the Firm…I can take care of myself," she told him with a smirk.

"Oh…yeah…I'm sure…I didn't mean-" he stuttered, his cheeks burning scarlet red.

"It's okay, I know you didn't," she giggled. "But yeah…I mean I don't get it. I thought Lima had _two _of these superheroes. They can't be that good." She sighed. That really made Ryder sit up straight.

"Well I don't know much about that Woman Fierce, since she's new," he started, covering his tracks before he left them, "But Mega-Stud's doing a great job. The Firm's been doing damage for months now but they hadn't killed anyone until…you know, Mallory, and I bet they would have way before if it wasn't for him," he explained defensively. That only made Marley grin even harder.

"Oh my Gosh," she laughed. "You're a Mega Stud fanboy, aren't you?!" Ryder blushed, trying and failing to find a reply that wouldn't make him look like even more of a loser than he already was...or give the game away, of course. Marley perhaps sensed his awkwardness, and her face softened. "It's ok," she justified. "I'm a bit of a superhero fangirl too." Ryder raised both his eyebrows and grinned. "I _do _think the female ones get more done, though," she said seriously. Ryder grimaced and was about to defend Mega Stud again, but she cut him off. "I mean look at Femme Fatale's work in Chicago. Girl's a genius…"

Ryder had to bite his tongue to stop himself from scoffing at this statement…he wanted to tell her a lot of other less pleasant things about Femme Fatale, but obviously couldn't, so nodded reluctantly.

"Must be…" he sighed.

"Anyway, enough talk about superheroes," she suggested. "I want to know about _you,_" she told him with a hint of a smirk, causing him to blank. He was about to say something like, 'oh, I'm pretty boring,' or, 'there's not much to say', but he remembered that Jake had advised him specifically not to say something like that and, now that he thought about it, if Marley Rose wanted something from him, he was damn well going to give it to her, so he gave her a slightly rehashed version of the more interesting aspects of his life story, such as his childhood adoption, choosing to tell her that the reasons behind it were 'difficult to talk about,' instead of the real reason. She nodded sympathetically, taking his hand supportively and lightly brushing her thumb over the back of his palm, and looking so incredibly _interested _in his life. He in turn, once he had returned his focus back to something other the fact that Marley was _caressing his hand,_ learnt some of her life story, from her single Mother who she missed like crazy, to her wild desire to see the world, a dream that was apparently hindered by 'responsibilities she couldn't just drop and leave.'

"Most responsibilities can be dropped for a while," Ryder mused. "Technically the best situation would be now, when you're young and single…"

"Situations can change though," she reminded him with a shy smile, causing his cheeks to burn in anticipation.

They talked like this for a long time, until way after midnight, when they realised that perhaps it was time to get home. Realising that Marley wasn't driving home, and admittedly, that he didn't want to stop talking to her just yet, Ryder offered to walk her home, which she happily accepted. He wished he had brought a jacket so he could be all corny and drape it around her shoulders to protect her from the night-time cold, but unfortunately in the rush to fly to the bar he had forgotten. She didn't seem too cold though, and happily chatted away with him they strolled contentedly towards her apartment.

"Oh, it's this one," Marley exclaimed, realising they had nearly walked past her apartment building since they had been busy talking. They walked up to the double doors and stood to face each other. Marley looked up at Ryder with a beaming smile on her face, her blue eyes looking even more stunning amongst the dark.

"I had a really nice time tonight," she told him, making him blush, (as per usual.) "We should do this again sometime," she suggested.

"I'd like that," he told her, trying futilely not to grin too wide. "I'll text you tomorrow." It was then that he noticed her stepping towards him, leaning in and to the side to place a small kiss on his cheek.

Good night, Ryder," she whispered with a smile, giggling slightly at the dumbstruck expression he now wore on his face.

"G'night Marley," he stammered out in reply. With that, he watched her tap in the code to open the front door, turning once to send him one last smile before disappearing into her building. When the door had closed he exhaled heavily, eyes widened, before hopping enthusiastically off the front step before looking for a place where he could inconspicuously zoom up into the air to fly home.

**Woo hoped you enjoyed that fluffiness :) As always, I would be so grateful if you could take a couple seconds out of your day to tell me what you thought, even if it's only in one word!**

**Also…to anyone who read Ryder's Chance…I am 99% sure that I will be publishing the first chapter of the sequel this week! (I'm super pumped. I hope you are too :p The summary for it is on my profile if you want to take a look.)**

**On to the couple of lovelies who reviewed chapter 5 of **_**this:**_

_**TeaAndGlee: **_**Glad you liked the chapter! Ooh you were almost right, they were late rather than interrupted, haha :p**

_**Guest: **_**You're right, criminals don't have any sense of timing haha- at least they just made them late rather than interrupted a kiss. Not that they properly kissed, but still :p**

**Lauren xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the gap in updating, I've had a very busy few days, not to mention publishing another story! Hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Duh.**

Ryder tapped his fingers irritably on the computer keyboard in front of him at work, not concentrating, not even remembering what he was supposed to be doing. Instead, his mind was on other, bigger things going on in his life. Things like, _were he and Marley a thing now that they had gone on five successful dates and properly kissed on four occasions now? _In an attempt to alleviate his stress, he cast his mind back to the first one that they had shared.

It had happened at the end of their second date. The date itself had been a pretty generic movie-and-dinner, but when Ryder had driven her home, instead of saying an immediate polite goodnight, they had sat in his car outside her apartment for long moments, talking about deep things. Marley had confided in him that he was the best thing to happen to her since she had moved to Lima, and he had replied that, to quote, 'if this doesn't seem too forward', she was the best thing to happen to him _ever. _When the cold inside the parked car had gotten too much, and Marley had sighed and finally declared that she had to go inside, she had leaned in, tilting her head to the right as if about to kiss him on the cheek again, but pausing mere millimetres away, her blue eyes flickering up to meet his questioningly. Channelling his Mega Stud confidence, he had closed his eyes and leaned down to boldly but gently close the gap between them, his stomach turning in delightful knots at the sensation of her soft lips curling into a slight smile against his own, remaining in position for as long as possible until they had no choice but to part, gasping slightly for breath, before she boldly cupped his cheek with her right hand and connected their lips again, more deeply this time and with a slightly opened mouth. It had been several minutes before the chill had manifested itself again, and she had sighed, pulling away and leaving the car, turning to send him one more flirtatious smile before disappearing into her building and leaving him reeling and (fittingly,) aroused to an almost superhuman extent.

The subsequent four occasions had gotten more heated each time, resulting in a teeth and tongue filled fumble at the end of date number five, which had only come to an abrupt end when Ryder had heard the faint but definitely-there sound of a large vehicle crash on the other side of Lima, which would definitely need Mega Stud's assistance. To his surprise, Marley had not seemed phased at all by his hastened pulling apart and excuses, agreeing almost simultaneously that she had to go too. He didn't really know if that was a good or bad thing.

In any case, their 'relationship', (or whatever it was,) was moving quickly. _Very quickly._

Before getting too carried away daydreaming in a public place about his personal life with the most beautiful girl he had ever met, he turned his attention back to the less pleasant aspects of his life, particularly that of his alter-ego. The not-so-small matter of the Firm's last two targets being _employees of the company he worked in _was definitely not going to stop playing on his mind any time soon_. _It surely couldn't be a coincidence.

His first guess was that they had found him…That they knew who he was and were taking great delight in showing it. His second guess was that his identity was safe, but that the company were the Firm's main target. It would explain them going to the lengths to _kill _Mallory in exchange for information…it would also explain why they attacked another colleague to steal security details.

But then something had happened yesterday afternoon, when he had been helping Sylvester with filing in her office, and they had been interrupted by the shrill ringing of a phone that Ryder didn't recognise, meaning it wasn't her office landline, her work cell, or her personal cell, which all had ringtones that, given the nature of his job, Ryder was very well acquainted with. Sylvester had instead scrambled to find a phone that he had never seen before.

"Get out," she had snapped.

"I can keep on with this while you talk if you want-" he had suggested.

"GET. OUT." She had told him through gritted teeth. Once he had obediently left her office, his natural curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he had lingered to easily overhear Sue's side of the conversation.

"_I am done playing these games, we're wasting unnecessary time. Eliminate the pair of them and I have total control, which in turn, means a nice big bonus for you. Do I make myself clear?"_

Then it had all dawned on Ryder, that maybe the person that he and Woman Fierce were scouring the entire state for whenever possible, might be the same person barking orders at him every day from 9 to 5.

"Ry?" Marley's soft voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, beautiful. Here for a hole-punch?" He quipped with confidence.

"Sure am," she giggled. "Are you okay? You were in one of your trances again."

"I'm fine," he sighed. "Just…work stuff."

"Okay…" she said, looking slightly sceptical but brushing it off. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to come over this Friday?"

"What…like…to your place?" He asked, the open-mouthed expression giving away his shock.

"Well, my roommate's going out of state for her brother's wedding for the weekend, so you know, I'll be bored and lonely by myself…" she suggested, a flirtatious twinkle in her bright blue eyes. "Oh…I meant for a movie night or something!" She clarified, catching on to what Ryder was presuming she was suggesting.

"Oh…right…of course," he spluttered. "I mean yeah, a movie night sounds great."

"Awesome," she grinned. "I should probably get back to work," she added with a sigh…clandestine mid workday flirtations under the pretence of 'looking for a hole-punch' were very much becoming a routine for them. Ryder nodded, before looking around and reaching up and over his desk to boldly give her a quick peck, internally cheering at the grin on her face and the way her fingers brushed over her lips when they parted. With that, she turned to get back to work, leaving Ryder reeling at the prospect of an evening, perhaps even _weekend _alone with her at her apartment. Sure, she said it was a date night, but with the immense speed at which their 'thing' was developing? Well, the possibilities of what could happen in an apartment with no-one else in it but them almost made him blush.

However, before he could dwell too much or get too excited for that, he had another important matter to attend to. He retrieved his _own _secret cell phone; the new one that he used only to communicate with Woman Fierce, and slipped off to the men's room, checking that it was empty before calling. He had to wait and irritatingly long time for her to answer, (with an irritable "What the hell do you want, I'm at work!"), before telling her something that instantly quietened her.

"I think I know who the leader of the Firm is."

**Dun dun dunnnnnn…so, Sue is under suspicion and things with ryley are getting heated, and fast! Tell me what you thought!**

**Dear reviewers:**

_**Ember411: **_**Well, it's funny you say that, because they got some making out in this chapter! No worries my dear :)**

_**TeaAndGlee: **_**Aw, this makes me so happy! A lot of fluff in this chapter too, which I hope you enjoyed :p**

_**Savannaramirez35: **_**Hooray! Good thing there was more of it in this :p**

**Lauren xxx**


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